Countries with the most long weekends in 2029
A public holiday on a Tuesday is worth more than one on a Saturday, and a run of three days off is worth more than either. This ranks 34 countries by the runs their 2029 calendar actually produces — Japan comes first with 10.
The ranking
| # | Country | Long weekends | Longest run | Days in total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 10 | 4 days | 31 |
| 2 | Ireland | 6 | 4 days | 19 |
| 3 | United States | 6 | 3 days | 18 |
| 4 | Denmark | 5 | 5 days | 20 |
| 5 | Iceland | 5 | 5 days | 19 |
| 6 | Brazil | 5 | 4 days | 16 |
| 7 | Czechia | 4 | 5 days | 16 |
| 8 | Sweden | 4 | 5 days | 15 |
| 9 | Mexico | 4 | 4 days | 13 |
| 10 | New Zealand | 4 | 4 days | 13 |
| 11 | Romania | 4 | 4 days | 13 |
| 12 | South Africa | 4 | 4 days | 13 |
| 13 | Canada | 4 | 3 days | 12 |
| 14 | Turkey | 3 | 9 days | 16 |
| 15 | Finland | 3 | 5 days | 12 |
| 16 | Belgium | 3 | 4 days | 11 |
| 17 | Greece | 3 | 4 days | 10 |
| 18 | Hungary | 3 | 4 days | 10 |
| 19 | Netherlands | 3 | 4 days | 10 |
| 20 | Austria | 3 | 3 days | 9 |
| 21 | United Kingdom | 3 | 3 days | 9 |
| 22 | Russia | 2 | 8 days | 11 |
| 23 | Norway | 2 | 5 days | 8 |
| 24 | Poland | 2 | 5 days | 8 |
| 25 | Slovakia | 2 | 5 days | 9 |
| 26 | Australia | 2 | 4 days | 7 |
| 27 | Germany | 2 | 4 days | 7 |
| 28 | Serbia | 2 | 4 days | 8 |
| 29 | Croatia | 2 | 3 days | 6 |
| 30 | France | 2 | 3 days | 6 |
| 31 | Portugal | 2 | 3 days | 6 |
| 32 | Spain | 2 | 3 days | 6 |
| 33 | India | 1 | 3 days | 3 |
| 34 | Italy | 1 | 3 days | 3 |
The longest single break
In Japan the longest unbroken stretch runs May 3 to May 6 — 4 days, created by Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day and Children's Day landing next to a weekend. The longest run anywhere on the list is 9 days, in Turkey.
Why the winner changes every year
Countries with many fixed-date holidays swing hardest. A fixed date is a lottery ticket: in one year it falls on a Tuesday and creates a four-day break with one day of leave, in the next it falls on a Sunday and disappears entirely. Countries that peg holidays to a weekday instead — the American "third Monday in January" pattern, the British bank holiday Mondays — produce a long weekend every single time, which is why they rank steadily rather than spectacularly.
That difference is the whole reason this table is worth recomputing each year, and why a ranking copied from last year's article is usually wrong.
How this was counted
- Nationwide public holidays only. A regional holiday does not give most of the country a long weekend, so counting it would flatter countries that devolve their calendars.
- Weekends and holidays together, as an unbroken run of three days or more.
- Runs that start in December and finish in January are counted in the year they start.
- No bridge days: taking the Friday off to join a Thursday holiday to the weekend is leave, not calendar.
Related
- Countries with the most public holidays 2029
- Months with five weekends 2029
- Working days by country 2029
- Print a calendar with the holidays marked